Texas Pacific, the buyout firm founded by David Bonderman, is considering a 3.4 billion-euro ($4.5 billion) takeover bid for Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, Spains largest airline.

The pace of M&A was fastest in the Asia-Pacific region during the first quarter, with the value of transactions rising 19%, Bloomberg data show.

This year will set a new high for M&A activity on a global basis, surpassing the previous high of more than $3.6 trillion, which was set in 2006, said Tony Burgess, the London-based co-head of global mergers and acquisitions at Deutsche Bank AG.

The utilities, mining, consumer and banking industries are fueling the increase in deals, he said.